Comparison of conventional
CV Sameer=
Kumar , =
M Mallikarjun Reddy* , P. Punnarao=
*
and T. Ramprakash
Regional Agricultural Research Station, Palem, Mahaboobnagar dist=
rict.
* Administrative Office, ANGRAU, Rajendranagar,
In
Southern Telangana Zone of Andhra Pradesh food
security of farming community largely depends upon irrigated rice ecosystem
under canals, tanks and wells. In the recent past due to delayed onset of
monsoons and frequent droughts the filling of reservoirs and tanks is delay=
ed
leading to a situation wherein farmers wait for the release of water from c=
anal
ultimately leading to delayed transplanting of over aged seedlings and poor
water management which consequently led to very low production. Uncertainty=
in
electricity supplies also one of the concerns to the low land rice growers
under wells. This precarious situation of water availability in the
traditionally rice cultivated areas of Southern Telang=
ana
Zone make the farmers risk prone. To save the farmers f=
rom
increasing water scarcity which threatens sustainability of low land rice
production, there is a need to evaluate water saving technologies suitable =
for
this zone. One such technology is SRI, a fundamentally different approach to
grow rice with little use of water. There is a need to evaluate the amount =
of
water saved and suitability of this technology for the agro ecological
situations of this zone.
Keeping
in view of this research gap an experiment was conducted at R.A.R.S, Palem during 2005-06 rabi to compare the most po=
pular rabi variety Tellahamsa u=
nder
conventional and SRI method. Water quantification studies revealed that, SRI
method requires 1.61 lakh liters less water per
hectare compared to that of conventional rice. Grain yield studies indicate=
d 25
% yield increase in SRI method (5.4 t/ ha) over conventional practice (4.4
t/ha). Further, no incidence of stem borer and blast was observed in SRI
method.
****